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Please Join AWI at the KORUS Festival to Raise Awareness on the Dog Meat Trade

September 16, 2013

Dear Humanitarians in VA, DC, and MD,

Please join us on September 22 at the KORUS festival in Centreville, VA, to raise awareness on the cruel dog meat trade in South Korea and the Philippines.

The KORUS Festival is an annual celebration of the diversity of Korean American heritage. For more on the festival, see http://korusfest.org/.

Directions: Take I-66 to Exit 52 (Rt. 29) at Centreville, drive two miles south, turn left on Bull Run Post Office Road, bear right onto Bull Run Drive, after crossing over I-66 take an immediate left and follow the road to Special Events Center. The Center is located 2.5 miles from the intersection of Route 29 and Bull Run Post Office Road.

I am coordinating the event and will be there with my rescue dog from South Korea, Lucy, from 3:00 pm until 7:00 pm handing out leaflets in front of the Special Events Center. If you can join us—even for just half an hour, please email me at rosalyn@awionline.org.

If you are not able to join us at the event on Sunday, you can still take action on these important issues by sending letters to officials in South Korea and the Philippines.

Why this is important, and actions you can take:

South Korea: Did you know that over 2 million dogs are reportedly killed for food every year in South Korea? The method of slaughter is usually extremely (and even intentionally) brutal, and the dogs are often butchered in full view of others. Sadly, many who support the dog meat trade believe that high adrenaline levels in dogs will produce tender meat—which results in these helpless creatures being sadistically killed by bludgeoning, slow strangulation, or even electrocution. Deaths that are preceded by panic and fear in the dogs occur on a daily basis throughout the country. At the open-air markets, dogs are electrocuted and their necks are broken—all in plain sight of passers-by.

Take action: Send a letter to officials in South Korea urging them to do what they can to stop the consumption of dog meat in South Korea. You can send the letter through the AWI website by clicking here. On the website, you will find suggested talking points to include in your letter.

The Philippines: Even though the Philippines banned the dog meat trade in 1998 for animal welfare reasons, the trade in dog meat continues largely unabated—half a million dogs are illegally slaughtered annually in the Philippines for human consumption. The implementation of the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 substantially increased the penalties for convicted dog meat traders, as a way of protecting the Philippine public from rabies transmission, and dogs from the cruelty of a black market trade. And yet the trade continues.

Take action: Send a letter to the Philippines' president urging him to take strong action to enforce his country's laws against trade in dog meat. You can send the letter through the AWI website by clicking here. On the website, you will find suggested talking points to include in your letter.

Also, be sure to share this "Dear Humanitarian" eAlert with family, friends and co-workers, and encourage them to join us on the 22nd.

As always, thank you very much for helping animals!

Sincerely,

Rosalyn Morrison
Legislative Assistant
Government and Legal Affairs

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